An “Accidental” Misfire

AP

Parents wait for news of students at the Belmont High School in Los Angeles Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018. Two students were shot and wounded, one critically, inside a Los Angeles middle school classroom Thursday morning and police arrested a female student suspect, authorities said. (Damian Dovarganes)

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On February 1st, four students in a Los Angeles middle school were injured due to a 12-year-old girl bringing a firearm to the school. Among the injuries, one was a shot to the head. The boy is said to recover and was stated to be lucky that the bullet missed vital components of the head.

According to the girl who brought the gun to school, the shots were all unintentional. Students believed that she brought a toy gun to school. But, toy or not, should she get a free pass for the injuries? Officials say no, as she is currently being held in juvey, for negligent discharge of a firearm. In this situation, negligent most likely stands in for “mishandling”.

The shooting happened at about 8:55 PM. When the school was declared safe, the day went on as normal, with counseling offered to anyone shaken up by the event. The students also returned to a normal class the next day.

School shootings are becoming a regular occurrence in our nation; within a week there are 3 shootings, totaling up to about 18 since January 1st. It is absolutely unacceptable that a student should walk into school with the fear that they might die. Should the United States Government continue to let the NRA push back gun regulations in fear of losing support and funding, we will have to continue the trend of living in fear.